Sheep donated by Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province to Southwest China's Sichuan province. [Photo/hz66.com]

Five practices adopted by Huzhou to help impoverished places in western China eliminate poverty were recently listed among the best practices of the east-west cooperation program for poverty relief in Zhejiang.

In addition, the city was rated as "excellent" in a provincial assessment for efforts related to the east-west cooperation program in 2021.

Since 2015, the city has allocated 1.6 billion yuan ($246.15 million) for the program and implemented 559 projects in places it is paired with.

Measures taken by the city included donating white tea seedlings and sheep, and building factories that produce elevators, electric motors and flooring in these places.

Last December, the approach taken by Huzhou to help Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Southwest China's Sichuan province shed poverty through sheep breeding was honored as one of the best poverty reduction practices in the world at the 2021 International Seminar on Global Poverty Reduction Partnerships held in Beijing.

The Huzhou government has also facilitated the sale of agricultural products worth more than 500 million yuan from these underdeveloped places to date.

In addition, the city has sent 580 people, including government officials, agricultural experts, doctors and teachers, to aid the development of these areas.